Europe by Sea: St. Petersburg history and intrigue

July 25, 2011

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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St. Petersburg is a city of rivers, bridges and boats. Late at night, the drawbridges stay in the up position to facilitate boat traffic; unlucky revelers can end up having to wait until morning to get home -- or back to their cruise ship. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The gilded dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral can be seen from all over the city. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Nevsky Prospekt is often called St. Petersburg's "Fifth Avenue," and a retail highlight is the Gostiny Dvor shopping mall. Built between 1757 and 1785, it houses hundreds of individual shops. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The plazas, squares and boulevards of St. Petersburg feel truly European. The city was founded as Peter the Great's "window on Europe." DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Nevsky Prospekt's Anichkov Bridge features four sculptures -- the Horse Tamers -- at each of its corners. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A "typical" market in St. Petersburg, Russia, seems to attract more tourists than locals. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Winter Palace -- with 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows and 1,057 halls and rooms -- is daunting by any scale; it now serves as the main building of the Hermitage Museum and can be overwhelming for even the most fervent art-lover. It's the largest art gallery in Russia and among the largest in the world. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Detail of the Winter Palace (Hermitage Museum) in St. Petersburg, Russia. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A beautiful gate guards an entrance at the Winter Palace. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Palace Square, like the Winter Palace that faces it, is immensely proportioned. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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One of St. Petersburg's most iconic buildings of is the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (also known by various names including the Church of the Spilt Blood or the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ). It is built on the spot where Alexander II was killed in March 1881. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The detail at the Church of the Savior on Blood is extraordinary. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Pockmarks on the exterior of the Church of the Savior on Blood are scars of its history, and the city's. The Soviets closed the church in the 1930s; in 1997 it reopened after nearly three decades of restoration. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Heed the dog's warning: This tour bus outside the Church of the Savior on Blood is indeed a long vehicle. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Bronze Horseman, a monument to the St. Petersburg's founder Peter the Great, faces the Neva River. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Crowds line the banks of the Neva River to observe the festivities of Navy Day in St. Petersburg. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Being the last Sunday in July meant our visit coincided with Navy Day, when ships of the fleet gather in St. Petersburg to celebrate the Russian Navy. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Being the last Sunday in July meant our visit coincided with Navy Day, when ships of the fleet gather in St. Petersburg to celebrate the Russian Navy. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Crowds line the banks to enjoy the festivities of Navy Day in St. Petersburg, Russia. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Being the last Sunday in July meant our visit coincided with Navy Day, when ships of the fleet gather in St. Petersburg to celebrate the Russian Navy. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A ship from the Russian fleet is seen in front of historic buildings on Navy Day. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Our first tour stopped for a vodka sampling, and several tourists took a photograph of the sign outside. It wasn't until the next day I learned "pectopah" means "restaurant." DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Modern buildings are just blocks from historic classics in St. Petersburg, Russia. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A gate marks an entrance to the Peter and Paul Fortress, built by Peter the Great along the Neva River to protect the area from a possible Swedish attack. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A SoCal favorite off tony Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, Russia: The Carl's Jr. "happy star." DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The traditional Russian dolls can be found all over St. Petersburg, Russia. Each is a series of dolls of increasing size, nested within one another. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Just off Nevsky Prospekt lies St. Catherine's Catholic Church. The church was one of 10 Catholic churches in the city in 1917 with 32,000 parishoners. It was closed in 1938 and used for storage and later as a concert hall; a 1984 fire destroyed the interior. After the end of Soviet rule, the building was returned to the Catholic Church in 1992 and services resumed. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The restoration of St. Catherine's Catholic Church is modern and clean -- with a rugged side altar reminding of its troubled history. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Newer commercial buildings in St. Petersburg, Russia, have a utilitarian look typical of buildings from the Soviet era. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The skyline of St. Petersburg, Russia, boasts ornate historic buildings, contemporary skyscrapers -- and stark, Soviet-era housing. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Construction on this ambitious complex of high-rises near the port seems to have stopped completely, signs of economic challenges facing St. Petersburg. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A sign of a tough economy: An ambitious collection of high rises near the St. Petersburg cruise port sits unfinished, with no sign of recent work. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

St. Petersburg is a city of rivers, bridges and boats. Late at night, the drawbridges stay in the up position to facilitate boat traffic; unlucky revelers can end up having to wait until morning to get home -- or back to their cruise ship.DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Have you been to any of these ports? Share your stories, secrets and photographs with Register readers. Send them to dmedzerian@ocregister.com

Upcoming itineraries: The Mediterranean, from Turkey to Tunisia and beyond.

Twenty years after the end of the Soviet Union, the thought of visiting Russia still brings ideas of mystery and intrigue. It starts long before you'll sail into the new cruise facility: Your pre-travel literature makes it clear visiting Russia will be different.

For one, St. Petersburg – the former Leningrad (and briefly, Petrograd) – is the only stop on our Baltic tour that requires a tourist visa each time you leave the ship. They're easy enough to get: Each ship-arranged excursion comes with the visa, and local tour operators can provide them, too. But you won't be leaving your ship without one.

The port is also uniquely situated: convenient to city sites, but arranged so you can't walk to or from your ship. It made me think I wouldn't get a chance to see much on my own.

I was wrong. Although many of my shipmates later said they felt rather restricted as they toured the famous Hermitage museum, I opted for two tours that seemed like they might provide a chance to explore by myself.

One tour, of St. Petersburg as the locals see it, included a subway ride, two shopping stops, a vodka tasting and time to sneak away from the group and walk among the crowds at the annual Navy Day celebration.

The other combined a sightseeing-bus tour with three hours to wander the streets unescorted.

And what streets they are, lined with historic palaces, churches and buildings that are truly monumental in scope and scale, reminiscent of the city's pre-Soviet past and exciting future.

Check out our slideshow for a look inside Peter the Great's "window on Europe."

Have you been to St. Petersburg? Let us know! Send your stories, secrets and photos to dmedzerian@ocregister.com

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